7 Laziest Television Stereotypes

These stereotypes are lazy. Not the characters themselves, but the writing behind them.

It was announced today that Rob Schneider will be starring in a CBS sitcom that deals with the culture clash that ensues when he marries into a Hispanic family. I’m sure that it will be handled with all the grace and quiet dignity for which Rob Schneider is known.

While it wouldn’t be unreasonable to cringe at the thought of the stereotypes drummed up by this project, it certainly would mesh well with television history to use simply drawn stereotypes as a cheap laugh or plot device. After all, aren't all sitcom characters stereotypes in one way or another?

Lazy writing and poorly-drawn characters appeal to the lowest common denominator (see this). Though TV has gotten better in general in recent years, it's no secret that many sitcoms and dramas appeal to people because it allows the audience to take their thinking caps off. However, the entrants below are gratuitous even by lazy TV standards. Here are a smattering of characters that offer up stereotypes that would make Tyler Perry blush.

7. Jack – Will and Grace

Gays had been depicted on TV long before Will and Grace and even more so afterward. However, it was Sean Hayes’ Jack that seemed to enter the public consciousness more than any other gay character did. Unfortunately, Jack reads more like a 1970's hack comedy bit on "fruits" than he does an actual human being.

He was a huge queen. He loved drama, he sang and danced, he’s flamboyant about most everything he undertakes and…he loves to shop. Despite the show’s long run, Jack continued to exist largely as a one-note character that offered comedic relief and not much more. He was pretty damn funny, but hardly an enlightened take on human sexuality.

Now, if they had made him a professional football player, that would have really turned the notion of sexuality on its head. Take that, ESTABLISHMENT!

6. Huggy Bear – Starsky and Hutch

This isn’t so much an issue with stereotyping black people (though I guess it kind of is) but rather with that lazy pimp stereotype. I’m guessing he was the first pimp to get serious screen-time, but what did we really know about Huggy Bear? Did mother issue drive him to pimping? Why was he so quick to drop the dime for a couple of white detectives with perms? Did they save his life in Vietnam?

Just give us a few tangential facts to make this guy more human. Make him a large contributor to the United Negro College Fund and periodically remind us of his fondness for meatball subs.

Not so hard, is it?

5. Jessie Spano – Saved by the Bell

Before there was Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up, the role of “humorless woman” was held firmly by Elizabeth Berkely, who played feminist buzzkill Jessie Spano on the stereotype-laden Saved by the Bell. This shows was knee deep in dweebs, pocket protectors, and jocks, but we’d seen many of those before. The Spano character existed solely to remind everyone they should be having less fun, and to keep calling her boyfriend a macho pig, which seems a little harsh.

A character that uptight certainly didn’t need to be taking caffeine pills. In fact, she probably should have unwound with a little weed from Johnny Dakota.

4. Apu (The Early Years) – The Simpsons

Since The Simpsons has been on for approximately 75 years, they have done a very good job of fleshing out characters that started off as pretty one-dimensional. These days, Apu is a pretty drawn-out character, but at the beginning of the show, he was a pretty well-worn caricature. I love The Simpsons, so I’m not inclined to rag on it unduly, but when they have Apu making a pilgrimage to Kwik-E-Mart headquarters on a Nepalese hilltop, it raises more than a few eyebrows.

After the first few seasons, Apu became a likable and fairly deep character on the show, but before that happened, his presence felt like the laziest on the show. Tied with maybe Chief Wiggum.

Apu wasn’t a bad stereotype. He was hardworking, friendly, and very smart. But he was still a stereotype.

3. Pepe Le Pew - Looney Tunes

Saturday morning cartoons offered no shortage of half-developed characters that play to stereotypes, probably because they weren’t getting too many letters from Latin-American toddlers objecting to their depiction of Speedy Gonzalez. However, over time, as groups got more vocal, cartoons relied less on affectations and cultural props to embody a character.

Except for Pepe Le Pew.

The damage has been done. Since the age of 5, I’ve been absolutely positive that every Frenchman I come across is trying to steal my girlfriend and rape her. I refuse to go to Paris for this reason.

What do we REALLY know about Pepe? I always figured that he was a skunk to imply that French people are stinky because they didn’t shower. Not exactly an enlightened stance, but whatever. Further, he has a creepy brand of romance for which the French were previously known. OK, they still might have a creepy brand of romance.

But he also defies some stereotypes. For instance, Pepe doesn’t take no for an answer. But if World War II is any indication, the French are oh-so-quick to take no for an answer.

And with that joke, I’m no better than any of the characters on this list.

Can a reality TV show serve as a stereotypical representation, considering that the characters are real? I mean, they weren’t written this one-dimensionally, they ARE this one-dimensional.

I’m not going on a crusade to demand that sluts and guidos get a fair shake in the media, but is anyone really this ridiculous? Because if MTV is playing up the personalities and d-bag qualities of the stars and purporting them to be “real,” that’s far worse than any other transgression on this list.

The characters are shown to be sex-crazed, STD-laden, orange muscleheads that divide their time equally between making out fighting, and drinking. It’s like a 1950’ high school.

1. Frasier and Niles Crane – Frasier

Intellectuals seem to get railroaded more than any other group on this list. Between Jessie Spano, the nerds on Big Bang Theory, and the brothers Crane, it seems as though smart people are insufferable fancy lads, joyless, or nerds, which isn’t true. Sometimes (not often) smart people can be dynamic, fun, and sexy.

But if you’re in the Frasier universe, that doesn’t happen. Rather, you talk about German operas, frisee salads, and have no sense of casual conversation. We’ve seen the connotation that “smart” means “pussy” for a long time on TV shows. While one could argue things have evolved past pocket protectors and wedgies, Frasier and Niles would lead us to believe that they haven’t evolved that far past pocket protectors and wedgies.